Women and popular music : sexuality, identity, and subjectivity / Sheila Whiteley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whiteley, Sheila, 1941-2015.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women musicians.

Popular music--Social aspects.

Popular music.

Feminism and music.

Physical Description:

x, 246 pages : music ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2000.

Summary:

Opening with the 1960s, Sheila Whiteley examines the counter culture's reactionary attitudes to women through the lyrics of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She explores the ways in which artists like Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell confronted issues of sexuality and freedom, redefining women's participation in the industry, and assesses the personal cost of their achievements. She considers how stars such as Annie Lennox, Madonna and k.d. lang have explored issues of gender stereotyping and sexuality, through pop videos like 'Justify My Love' and 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)', and looks at the enduring importance of the singer-songwriter through artists such as Tracy Chapman. She then assesses the contribution of figures like Tori Amos, P.J. Harvey and Courtney Love, and asks whether the Spice Girls are just a 'cartoon feminist pop group', or positive role models for teenage girls.

Contents:

1 Wonderful world, beautiful people: The 1960s' counter culture and its ideological relationship to women 22

2 Repressive representations: Patriarchy, femininities and 1960s' rock 32

3 The personal is political: Women's liberation, sexuality, gender, freedom and repression 44

4 Try, just a little bit harder: Janis Joplin and the search for personal identity 51

5 The times they are a-changin': Folk and the singer songwriter 72

6 The lonely road: Joni Mitchell, Blue and female subjectivity 78

7 Daughters of chaos: Patti Smith, Siouxsie Sioux and the feminisation of rock 95

8 Challenging the feminine: Annie Lennox, androgyneity and illusions of identity 119

9 Madonna, eroticism, autoeroticism and desire 136

10 k.d. lang, a certain kind of woman 152

11 Talkin' 'bout a revolution: Tracy Chapman, political uprisings, domestic violence and love 171

12 Authenticity, truthfulness and community: Tori Amos, Courtney Love, P.J. Harvey and Bjork 196

13 Artifice and the imperatives of commercial success: From Brit Pop to the Spice Girls 214.

Notes:

Includes discography: p. 230-235.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0415211891

0415211905

OCLC:

42888116